Well, this, like most old vehicles has turned into more of a project than I had wanted but it's still a great find. I thought I'd throw together a quick build thread. The plan is to have her on the road for the summer, which comes in June in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and paint her in the fall. So far I've run into; rodents living in the cowl, a silver dollar sized rust hole under the passenger seat the previous owner fixed with duct tape, a very tired 350 and toasted TH350. The body is very solid and thats why I took months to find the right truck to start with. Welding in patches is time consuming and in my experience a little rust always turns into ten times the work you thought it would be. I've learned the hard way a few times find the best and most complete vehicle to start with. A cheap rust bucket has been false economy when I've gone that route in the past.

So far I've done; ORD 4" rear shackle flip, 4" front spring lift with flush mount frame bushings, extended brake lines, yanked the old power train and started the color change. I Patched the small hole in floor, pulled off the rocker panels which were held on with four very poor plug welds and low and behold the lower cowl supports were crusty! I'll never understand why people don't do it right the first time, why weld new rockers to a rusted out pillar ? The inner rocker and floor are solid and intact at least.

The to do list; Spray in a high quality box liner now that I've fixed what rust I did have in the floor, get the new power train in and drive it for the summer. In the fall I'll take a week off and knock down the wonderful paint job the last owner did and spray the new color. I'm sure there will be more surprises but here it goes. The project, as I bought it .... good from far but the paint job is terrible.

That was as fun as going to the dentist but the floor sides, kick panels and lower A-pillars are all welded up. I'm ready to cut down a set of truck doors and hang them before lining up the rocker panels.

I, and I'm sure the neighbors are sick of grinding. The passenger side front floor support was also crusty on the end so I cut open the floor rather than pull off the very solid rocker box. It was easier to get at from the top and the floor was already open any way. Anyone know if the transmission hump is different for a standard? If so I'll have to start looking for one.

Nice work...Im doing the same but am in the process of doing the pass side rear floor where it lips up and attaches to the bed floor on a 70 k5. Having trouble getting the plug welds to stick/penetrate. What welder and settings you using?? I have a hobart 140 using gas/solid core wire. I have a 68 gmc burb as well as my k5 blazers so im not partial....like them all!

I'm using a Lincoln 180 HD but on a low setting with .023 wire. If your having trouble with plug welds make sure the surface is very clean. If it was a bit rusty on the surface try treating it with Picklex 20 the night before. The stuff seems to make the welds flow better. Other tricks are to make sure the two panels are as tight together as possible. You can't get to the back there so tap around the hole with the pick end of a body hammer ore use a sheet metal screw to suck the together and weld up the hole afterward. I always clean off the metal around the plug weld, start just outside and drop in. Then work the puddle around the edge and fill in the centre last. If there is a bit of spatter you've got to wait for it then keep the puddle moving smoothly.

Well, The crate motor and transmission are in. A 45 minute job took a week and a bit because we don't make anything in North America any more. I borrowed a buddies engine hoist and the made in China ram blew a seal. I bought an engine hoist in the big city some three hours away and the made in China Ram didn't work. The plunger didn't even have an oil seal. So I drove to the larger town 2 hours away to buy a replacement ram while I waited for the company to reply to my phone messages and bought a, you guessed it made in China hydraulic ram. They didn't have one made anywhere else!!! At least this one worked but a 33% average on their products re-enforces what I already know. Avoid made in China crap if at all possible.

Now I just have to figure out what the heck goes in the threaded hole above the oil filter housing on the crate engine. A assume it is just another location for an oil pressure. Once I confirm that I'll likely throw a plug in it.

As it turns out you are right! I have a franken clutch set up from the wrecker and for my truck the clutch ball does mount on the block. I'm not sure if I can get this part anymore so I may fab one up with the ball stud out of the bell housing.

The project is on hold for a few months. I had a grinding disc explode and have a nasty hand injury that required reconstructive surgery. I managed to keep all my fingers despite some shattered bones and severed tendons. I'll spare you all the gory pictures as the surgeon described it "a horrific wound". Barring infection I should recover most of the use. About a dozen projects under my belt over the last thee decades and up until now I've gotten away with a few stitches. After a google image search of grinder injuries, I am fortunate, it could have been much worse.

There, but for the grace of god, go I, and probably a bunch of us. Sorry to hear about your injury. I just had one fly apart the other day and caught not a single piece of it. Lucky. Hurry back, I was really looking forward to you motivating me to work harder on mine! Really in need of it, heavy snow here in northern Michigan this morning had me in a very bad mood and not wanting to do anything!

I've had a few go in the past and took a few stitches despite the gloves but this one was a claymore mine. I will see the aftermath tomorrow at the surgeons office when they unwrap it. In the big picture, I'll have an ugly but functional monkey claw. Never having had aspirations to be a hand model I'm a lucky guy. I should be able to run the fly rod fine just about the time the fishing really picks up in the Canadian rockies. A friend of mine is a safety consultant in the oil patch and told me a horrifying story about a fellow that had a grinder climb the string on his hoodie ....... not as rosy of an outcome as my accident. I'll be back at it soon I think. Thanks for the kind words.

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Originally Posted by Tumbleweed

There, but for the grace of god, go I, and probably a bunch of us. Sorry to hear about your injury. I just had one fly apart the other day and caught not a single piece of it. Lucky. Hurry back, I was really looking forward to you motivating me to work harder on mine! Really in need of it, heavy snow here in northern Michigan this morning had me in a very bad mood and not wanting to do anything!

Back from the surgeon and had a look at the aftermath when he unwrapped the mummy hand. The prognosis is very good and he feels I will recover 100% use of all my fingers. Feeeew what a relief. Here is what happens when a thin kerf .045, 7" cutting wheel explodes on a 15 amp grinder at 10000 rpm. The pre surgery pictures are much worse. Needless to say I'm super lucky.